In the lounge, Saleh revealed his identity.
Ronan and his team had already rehearsed, so they feigned a bit of surprise, followed by pleasant astonishment.
Everything felt natural.
Saleh asked directly, “Ronan, have you considered looking for investment in the Arab world?”
Ronan didn’t play coy and asked with pleasant surprise, “Are you representing the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority?” He looked at Saleh, “Are you going to invest in my movie?”
Saleh quickly shook his head, “No, no, the amount is too high; I don’t have that much authority. But I can recommend you go to Abu Dhabi, in the name of the Investment Authority.”
“Really?” Seeing Saleh nod, Ronan added, “It’s great that you’re willing to help; you’ve solved my biggest problem.”
Saleh smiled and said, “You’re welcome. This movie of yours is speaking up for Arabs.”
“Thank you.” Ronan was very sincere.
Saleh waved his hand, “I can only make the introduction. I cannot guarantee whether you can convince the people in Abu Dhabi to invest. Ronan, you had better have a plan.”
Ronan quickly stood up, searched around, took out a proposal from his briefcase, and handed it to Saleh, “This is the plan I prepared for the trip to Germany.”
Saleh had heard Ronan mention before that he was preparing to go to Germany to seek investment.
He took the document and opened it.
Although he didn’t understand it particularly well, he could still see that it was a very comprehensive proposal.
It was obvious that Ronan had done a lot of feasible work for this project.
This young man seemed really quite reliable.
Ronan said at this moment, “My father used to work with Germans, so I planned to use his old connections to hold a film investment solicitation conference in Germany.”
Whether it was this proposal or everything before it, Saleh could feel the effort Ronan had put into this project.
Compared to those brothers in Abu Dhabi who just wait around to die, this Ronan Anderson was truly someone with the drive to build a career.
“How is this plan?” Ronan asked.
Saleh returned the proposal and said vaguely, “It’s okay.”
Ronan asked again, “Is it feasible to move it to Abu Dhabi?”
Saleh thought for a moment and said, “It should be no problem; the Investment Authority can assist you. However, some details regarding diet and similar things need to be changed.”
“Don’t worry,” Ronan nodded and said, “We will respect the customs of our Arab brothers.”
As long as he could get the investment, he wouldn’t mind going there and turning vegetarian.
Saleh gave a few more instructions and soon left the hotel.
After the press conference ended and they returned to the company, Ronan held another brief meeting, mobilizing the entire company.
Marie would start assisting Saleh with the procedures from tomorrow, George would focus on media promotion, and Robert would go to prepare all the necessary materials.
Although he had heard that oil tycoons didn’t take money seriously and was even using Saleh, a blue-blooded royal descendant, as a guide, Ronan was not careless at all.
If he wanted people to pay for the investment, he had to be as airtight as possible.
What he was preparing was indeed a scam, but the film project was real.
All the preliminary work was done with extreme authenticity.
The company’s various licenses, tax records, previously filmed movies, membership proof of the Producers Alliance, relevant reports that had appeared in the media, etc.—Ronan had made corresponding preparations for all of them.
The next day, when the media reports came out, he specifically purchased some newspapers and periodicals that contained relevant coverage.
Although the Los Angeles Times only had a fist-sized report, the title of being one of the top three newspaper groups in the United States was still very intimidating. Read the latest chapters at g.com.
Even though the scale and impact of the report were not large, it still had some effect.
The most intuitive result was that more than a dozen Agents had submitted resumes for directors and actors to Sand Sea Entertainment.
There were also people calling to inquire about recruitment for behind-the-scenes positions.
Of course, Ronan would not hire a director and behind-the-scenes team now; everything would have to wait until after the trip to Abu Dhabi.
If he secured the investment, the purge could proceed according to plan; if he couldn’t, he would have to consider going to India or finding other methods.
Over the course of more than a week, Ronan kept in constant contact with Saleh.
Saleh visited Sand Sea Entertainment several times and, upon seeing the dozens of video movies in the library, determined that this was a production company with some substance, albeit small in scale.
With Ronan’s consent, he transmitted a large amount of information, including data on Sand Sea Entertainment and the script for the purge, back to Abu Dhabi.
Somewhat unexpectedly for Ronan, the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority attached great importance to it.
They not only sent a formal invitation letter but also covered the expenses for Sand Sea Entertainment’s flight to Abu Dhabi, as well as accommodation and meals.
While happy, this made Ronan feel a bit nervous; was he playing too big?
But thinking of the money in the hands of the Arabs, this concern immediately dissipated.
Besides, this was not a scam at all; he would really complete the project the purge.
During this time, besides preparing for the project, Ronan hadn’t been idle.
He further understood the social and economic situation, especially by combining it with the memories in his mind to find some ways to assist in his business venture.
Using the film project to turn Sand Sea Entertainment profitable was very important.
Having a profitable company also meant the possibility of entering the fund industry.
Borrowing a hen to lay eggs was the norm in the film industry, and film funds seemed to have some feasibility.
He needed to further investigate this aspect and learn relevant knowledge.
As for the attention from the Abu Dhabi side, Ronan could guess a little.
The expenses of Sand Sea Entertainment were nothing in their eyes.
Right now, Abu Dhabi lacked fame and influence, but it definitely did not lack money.
In his past life, how much money did Abu Dhabi spend to expand its influence?
The spending on the Premier League alone was an astronomical figure.
Hollywood had global influence, yet the Arabs in Hollywood movies were basically all bad guys.
The Arabs probably wanted to change this.
After receiving the invitation from Abu Dhabi, Ronan’s confidence doubled.
In his past life, there were scammers who could get money from Hollywood experts just by using their mouths and fake projects.
The possibility of getting money from Arabs who didn’t understand Hollywood for a real project like the purge was relatively high.
More importantly, after participating in the press conference, the comrade who acted as his guide was very active.
Saleh had already called him, saying he would accompany Ronan to Abu Dhabi and assist him in preparing for that film investment solicitation conference.
“I just graduated, and my work experience is too little,” Saleh said, “This can increase my practical experience.”
The situation was excellent, but he did not relax.
He specifically found a lawyer familiar with the Emirate of Abu Dhabi to make appropriate modifications to the investment contract template.
In addition, he prepared multiple contingency plans.
The worst-case result was nothing more than failing to secure investment and returning empty-handed.
By the time they set off, the materials he had prepared alone filled dozens of large boxes.
Anyone who saw it would think that Ronan’s small team was truly doing real work.
Of course, money was also flowing out like water, and more than sixty thousand dollars were missing from Sand Sea Entertainment’s account.
Ronan only took Marie and Robert Lee to Abu Dhabi, specifically leaving George Clint in Los Angeles, letting him operate with both money and connections so that the purge could occasionally appear in the media.
In mid-February, accompanied by his guide Comrade Saleh, the party of Ronan Anderson, a good friend of the people of the UAE, took an Emirates flight and arrived in Abu Dhabi.
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority extended a warm welcome to this friendly Hollywood company.
Dubai and Abu Dhabi were the most famous cities in the UAE, and in this era, Abu Dhabi had already been built very beautifully.
“Is this an Arab country?” Sitting in the car, Marie was full of questions, “Are there such advanced cities in Arabia?”
Ronan just said in a low voice, “They are very rich.”
It wasn’t just that Abu Dhabi didn’t understand Hollywood; in fact, Americans didn’t understand Abu Dhabi either.
The image of Arabs in Hollywood movies might be driven by Jewish influence, but it was also the general perception of Americans.
The group stayed at the local highest-spec super five-star Emirates Palace Hotel, and there were media reporters taking photos at the hotel entrance.
After overcoming jet lag, before Ronan could go to find the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, a high-ranking official from the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, accompanied by Saleh, came over to discuss the upcoming itinerary with him.
Thus, with the help of Saleh and the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, the names of Ronan Anderson and Sand Sea Entertainment frequently appeared in the local media, and there were special personnel assisting Ronan in preparing for the film investment solicitation conference.
After accompanying the people from the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority to a few events and accepting two interviews, Ronan gradually realized that, to a certain extent, the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority was also using him.
Bringing in a Hollywood team, regardless of whether the investment was successful or not, was a significant political achievement.
The struggle for power and profit among the Arab high-level officials was equally intense.
Sand Sea Entertainment and the film investment solicitation conference quickly made a name for themselves in Abu Dhabi.
According to Saleh, the current President of the UAE and the head of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi had also privately inquired about the Hollywood investment.
It seemed things had gotten a bit out of hand.
But by now, Ronan couldn’t back down, because the investment hadn’t been secured yet.
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority assisted him in preparing for the solicitation conference and helped with promotion, but they had never talked to him about investing in the purge.
Ronan was not anxious; a hunter must have patience.
Moreover, compared to the behemoth that was the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, he was more willing to trick those small and medium-sized investors into investing at the solicitation conference.
That way, there would be fewer future troubles.
If the Investment Authority threw a few million dollars his way, he wouldn’t refuse either.
On February 25, 1998, the three-day film investment solicitation conference kicked off at the Emirates Palace Hotel in Abu Dhabi.